No time to waste: M. Thinaah (left) returning a shot as Pearly Tan looks on during a training session.at the Axiata Aena in Bukit Jalil. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Women’s doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are out to keep letting their actions speak for themselves.
Pearly-Thinaah have been under scrutiny due to their ongoing contract standoff with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) but did not let the issue stop them from winning the Thailand Open.
The world No. 4 pair justified their top seed status in the tourney by overcoming South Korea’s Jeong Na-eun-Lee Yeon-woo in the final in Bangkok on Sunday.
Despite constant speculation regarding their future, Pearly-Thinaah are keen to continue blocking the external noise and keep proving themselves when they compete next in the Malaysian Masters which starts today at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
The pair were supposed to have final talks with BAM officials regarding their contracts which ended last December but discussions have been postponed for now as they are focusing on the tournament first.
Pearly-Thinaah declined to comment on their contract situation when speaking to reporters after a training session yesterday.
“We just want to focus on this tournament first. We are not letting anything distract us from playing here,” said Thinaah.
“We are very excited to compete in our home ground and we want to give our best in every match.”
Pearly said: “We are really happy with our title win but it’s already in the past and we are motivated to keep this momentum at home.
“As usual, we will take it one step at a time and not put undue pressure on ourselves.”
Pearly-Thinaah will open their campaign against Hong Kong’s Fan Ka Yan-Yau Mau Ying tomorrow.
The other women’s doubles pairs in action for Malaysia will be Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee, Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting, Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi and Amanda Yap-Ho Lo Ee.
Meanwhile, BAM secretary-general Kenny Goh confirmed Pearly-Thinaah have still not signed new contracts with the national body.
“We have not met them yet regarding their contracts as they only arrived in Malaysia late yesterday night after winning the Thailand Open,” said Kenny.
“We will definitely find the right time to meet them. We want to meet them as soon as possible.
“We are happy that they won the title. We want them to focus on the Malaysian Masters first.”
